Yeah it’s true, it actually did work in the first couple of free versions though, so at the time the instructions worked.

If possible, someone should really add a link to the new community to the blindsurveys subreddit message. Otherwise it’s going to just be word of mouth, which is slow especially given the fact that many studies have gone back to in person now.

People are going to ask their (often stupid AF) questions anyway, so we may as well have some control over the conversation rather than leaving it to the usually equally uninformed masses. Some of us are patient enough to keep answering the same ones again and again. You could maybe put a stickied post up at the top with generalized answers to the most common ones though at least… With a rule about checking that post first before asking the same type of question unless you have something new to add. I.E how do you know when to stop wiping, what do you see in dreams, how can you answer comments, what was taking Hallucinogens like, do you see black, how do you have sex, all the low effort/overly asked ones.

Gross, mother jones. But the bias wasn’t actually as bad as I thought it would be in this article.

Obviously the individual’s right to sue a business for ADA violations should totally be upheld, it’s already pathetic how little businesses are actually held to account for violations as it is, not to mention the incredible slowness of the whole process. but we do need some way to curb the large amount of false ADA violation suits that a few lawyers have decided to make their bread and butter. They send out shit tons of generically worded ADA letters as a fishing expedition, then berry the other party in legalese until they cave, hopefully settling out of court. That’s not the only method, but it is the most common.

Sometimes the companies in question have genuine access issues, but much of the time it’s pretty much random, and targeted at smaller businesses that can’t easily afford to fix access without assistance anyway. It’s basically just a more complex version of that fucked up IRS phone call scam.

It makes us look really bad, and makes a mockery out of the already highly underenforced legislation we do have. What this argument proposes to do is cut everyone off, even genuine complainants, so obviously fuck everyone involved with it. But it is an actual issue, even if the people bringing it up are clearly doing so in bad faith. And I really don’t know enough about the lawyer mentioned to know if they are one of the drive-by ADA suit types, or if Deborah Laufer is just genuinely really dedicated and kicking some serious ass. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt for now though…

So are there any plans to have a blindsurveys here on Lemmy then? Sure it’ll be harder to find, but I’ll do all I can to direct researchers there when I do studies with them, and if you guys put up a post with a redirect link on the subreddit it should help too. I made some good side cash with those studies, met some cool people, and (I hope) furthered valuable research that could benefit all of us. There are other places to find those studies and surveys, but do to the scattered nature of the internet and researcher’s unfamiliarity with where the blind hang out, r/blindsurveys was still a valuable resource that caught some that others did not.

Weird, it works okay for me… Are you making sure to select the same language you originally posted in first?

I wouldn’t use them outside if you can help it, especially off of smooth concrete. I also wouldn’t use them if you already know you’re kind of rough on canes or you tend to hit things hard with them compared to others. They really are nice other than that though, despite being heavier and rattlier than the straight ones. There just aren’t allot of good options in the thin and light folding cane market unfortunately, and IMO none of them are durable, at least not the ones available in the U.S and Canada.

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Sadly, an absolute metric assload of Okamoto Crown 25 pack condoms, which would be useful, except they ended up being too skinny and kept trying to come off, which isn’t, ya know… great… 😭 I guess I could try to offload a bunch of them on people with skinnier weaners, but like, would you really trust some random guy selling condoms on the local facebook group?

Cane

I use one of the straight NFB canes most of the time because I really like the light weight, solid feedback, flexibility, and the types of grip I can use with it. I use a folding version for traveling in vehicles though… Yeah way too many broken straight canes in my past LOL. Wanting to try a slimline ambutech with foam handle to compare though, just don’t have the money ATM. Maybe then I won’t have to spend so much money on new tips dammit! 😠 LOL

Dog

I grew up around my parent’s guide dogs, but I just don’t think I am responsible enough, or have enough work for one where I am in life right now.

Mobile

I use IOS 15 (yep still haven’t upgraded) on an iPhone SE 2020. I tried Android but I didn’t know enough when I bought it and ended up with one that had no flashable ROM, so I couldn’t fix it’s quirks. Probably could have tried harder to figure things out, but the info was so scattered, or not up to date, or just not for beginners. I hope to try again someday when I can afford to buy a proper stock phone, because I certainly respect Android and it’s users, and want to have the knowledge under my belt.

Computer

I use Windows 10, I know I know, booooo! But I just never really got into Mac’s way of doing things, even though I did have one for a few years. I liked some things about it, but Mac’s are just, expensive man. As for Linux, I want to try it someday, but I’m intimidated by the seeming complexity and where ever I turn I hear blind people complaining about it’s shortcomings in the accessibility department. I should still get around to taking a crack at it one of these days though…

Screen Reader

As for Screen Reader, I use NVDA 90% of the time, and JAWS 2022 (my SMA is gone now 😭) for the other 10%. I’ve got my reasons for using both, and would suggest that anyone should have at least 2 solid screen readers on their system, just encase. I tend to use both for what they excel at, for instance JAWS and it’s many tools like skim read or text analyzer, or the ability to put a list of elements in a virtual window and jump to them, proof reading modes, good OCR on pictures, nice built in third party voices, really nice MS Office enhancements ETC. While I use NVDA for speed, ease of use, better compatibility with some programs, and some of the addons that do things that JAWS just can’t, like the automatic output for interactive fiction interpreters addon, the Winamp, goldwave, and VLC addons, auto translation, enhanced windows console support, Japanese Games Translator ETC.

Braille

I can read and write Braille including grade 2 and pre calculous Nemeth quite well, I don’t always remember the more obscure contractions, or some of the weirder UEB rules, and I used to be noticeably faster and more accurate, but I still know allot of it by heart and can read at about 85WPM. I have a focus 40 5th gen display, which I really should use more but I’ve been spoiled by E-Text and Audio Books so it’s hard to make my self use it, and I’ve played around with Braille screen input but never got very good with it, probably partly do to my small phone screen. It seems pretty awesome though, and definitely faster than the standard keyboard for most.

I still feel that a sun glasses or hat attachment plus a belt or around ribs strap type attachment working in consort, if done right, with weatherproofing, rugged construction, light weight, high user customizability, surreptitious alerts, decent battery life, attainable pricepoint, ETC could be worth something, maybe. But honestly I’m not sure if the tech is their yet to be worth it unless you’re deafblind, and even that’s not a for sure thing. Maybe someday, but I don’t think smart canes or wrist wearables are going to be viable in this decade. To me, good training solves 95% of these problems anyway, but to be fair, that is much more expensive to do. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good and all that…

P.S. I’m not usually that guy, but honestly sighted people can keep their negative opinions about your cane to them selves IMO, they don’t use one every day. Besides, we do use other tech, like GPS, OCR, and live assistance apps to help us, and those of us who can also use echo location, along with other context clues and landmarks.

I’ve always wanted to jump into Linux just to see what it’s like, even if I probably wouldn’t use it longterm just do to the fact that allot of programs I tend to use won’t work on it. I know that Orca has some problems though, especially because allot of FOSS projects apparently aren’t prioritizing accessibility, and the accessibility stack on Linux is iffy. I wonder if Odillia is any better yet? Or if it’s just easier to use, but still can’t properly integrate with the UI’s of these programs through no fault of it’s own. Keep in mind, this is all third party info, and I have no idea what half of it truly means, so if I’m talking out my ass, please let me know. Just try to be nice ahaha.

I suppose that makes sense, given the deadlines. I just hope it works out and that the accusations about the arbitrary issue closing and dismissal of problems turns out to be false.